At best, When You See Yourself is the finest collection Kings Of Leon have put out since their peak years, and at worst a collection of good tunes to listen to this spring and never hear again. That’s a win-win, no matter how you look at it.

It’s a good solid album, but far from essential when it comes to Justice.

Here, we've got an album that kind of sums up Yorn's journey; this scruffy batch of songs is as exciting as anything Yorn's done in the last decade.

As singles, most of these songs would fly off of the shelves, but taken as a whole album it can get a bit tiring.

Ultimately, Haines has once again succeeded in producing a surreal, engaging and magnificently wry collection of songs that provide a satisfying conclusion to his concept trilogy.

Ultimately, Creation does not add anything drastically different to The Pierces’ back catalogue. At its best, the pair’s fifth LP familiarises us once again with their pitch-perfect harmonies and tightly constructed, polished melodies.

It's a deserved retrospective, and serves a reminder of how, in the mid 1990s, the band had album buyers eating out of the palms of their hands.

Compelling to some, maddening to others, it should be said that at least Gray's voice is tuneful.

Soulful, sexy and captivating, Mind Of Mine hints at the flexibility, focus and character required of the brightest solo stars.

There’s an edge to these performances that couldn’t have come from a more rehearsed band. Slightly fudged lyrics, instruments not turned on, and a palpable sense excitement give every single one of these songs a sense of electricity and vibrancy.

Unshowy, slowly revealing its pleasures, this is subtle, and clever, but rather too downplayed for its own good.

This record probably won’t change the world in the manner that Van Gogh’s art did, but fans of quiet, unfussy acoustic music will find much to enjoy.

Flesh And Machine is a record made with an abundance of indulgence; a collection of sounds that requires cynicism--and hopes for instant gratification--to be checked at the door.

They manage to create a hefty mass of synth'n'guitar led sound, while remaining friendly and accessible.

In the unlikely event you needed any more demonstration of the woman's talent, this is it.

That they can create such a heavy sound with just two people is nothing short of genius.

Far from being a band at a crossroads, as might have been implicated around the release of "Funf," they reaffirm themselves here as one of our unsung independent music gems.

A heady amalgam of Ibiza chill-out anthems and Carnival bangers, with poignant choruses and repeated minor chords, ACR Loco is a stomping reminder to celebrate the eccentric pleasures of life in multicultural cities and the liberating night life they offer.

With Lex Hives they not only add further credence to their reputation, they also spit in the respective faces of their many lesser contemporaries.

Sure, they may have lost their vulnerability, but School Of Seven Bells suit their new found assurance, and in doing so win our hearts for a second time.

With songs that face the pain and torment of neurotic fears, John & Jehn have crafted an absolutely stunning album of beautiful and noisy sounds placed atop slow, steady tempos and invigorating dance beats alike.

There are some excellent tracks on the album but all in all this is a serious disappointment from a band of whom much more was expected.

Witty and blessed with deftness Citizens! may well be, but we're still a bit bilious from our musical diet during the noughties to thoroughly appreciate it.

There have been some excellent debut albums out this year already, and Love In Arms stands comparison with them.

On the whole, Momentum is a solid slice of radio friendly pop-rock, and sadly, it’s truly deserving of that particular set of epithets.

This fanzine-ish dedication to the music they love spills over into the record, making it ooze with warmth and wit--and it’s catchy as hell.

On the whole his decision to try something different is a commendable and promising move and you get the feeling that it’s a direction he could continue to explore with success should he choose.

The music may be unspectacular, but it just works.

It just so happens that it is also an album that you pop on repeat and happily dance around like a wide eyed loon to for as long as needed. Self-realisation, invocations and exploration of the psyche are not necessary, but then as the album progresses the need to move (even if it’s just an appreciative nod of the head) is impossible to ignore.

There’s very little here to dislike, so stick it on loud, turn off the lights and sit back and enjoy.

Whilst it’s unlikely to have surpassed a compilation that would have boasted the likes of I Wanna Get Lost With You, Indian Summer, Graffiti On The Train and Mr And Mrs Smith to name but a few, Oochya! is undoubtedly one of Stereophonics’ better albums in recent times even if, at 15 tracks, it’s a little too long.

Occasionally, songs like Like A God and the fiery Double Dare do recall the band’s old magic, but those moments are few and far between.

The only issue with Somebody Tried To Sell Me A Bridge is that it’s so long that anyone other than the most devoted Morrison devotee will find it a bit of a slog. At 1 hour 20 minutes and 20 tracks, it could certainly do with some judicious editing.

At 14 songs and over 70 minutes long, it's certainly not for the faint hearted or easily distracted. Yet for those who are willing to put the effort in, some of Amos' most beautiful work will be found within.

Angst is very well in small doses, but over an entire album it can start to grate.

Admittedly, it isn’t a particularly easy listen, but love isn’t always easy, even if it is always worthwhile.

Is Forever Neverland the most mainstream indie album for a while or the most indie mainstream album? With hits like these, songwriting as accomplished as this and production as tight as this, it surely matters little either way.

It's disappointing that even with all this potential that you'd be hard pressed to remember most of the album once it's finished. You'll remember that it sounded good, but you won't remember how it sounded and even several plays fail to bestow "grower" status on this disc.

There are some infectious grooves here and there but they don’t crackle and snap the way they once did.

It’s possible that Oczy Mlody will disappoint those looking for an easy hit, or the sound of old-school Lips, but for those willing to persist and explore, it’s a work of nuance and intelligence.

Mostly No [is] an album with good intentions but one that's flawed in its execution.

This is a solid, enjoyable solo debut that’s certainly worth investigation if you’re a long-term Marr watcher.

It’s a goldmine of catchy power pop, with the odd misstep, but anyone claiming to find little here in the way of feel good factor is likely to be deaf, ignorant or just sitting within their own sound-proof forcefield.

There are times when it feels sporadic and fragmented--with so many different elements crammed in to each track--but ultimately, it is the sound of a band pushing themselves further than they’ve ever gone before.

My Best Friend Is You hasn't got the immediate freshness of Made Of Bricks, and it can make for a disorientating, uneven listen at times. Yet it's never anything other than compelling and demonstrates that, despite what a lot of people thought when she first appeared, that Kate Nash could well be around for a good few years yet.

All in all it’s a decidedly mixed bag, with producer Mark Ronson failing to make the experience even remotely coherent, though during this soundtrack’s highlights even the most committed Nolan fanboy might just get caught up in the hype.

This might not be the album that everyone wanted from Lorde, but it’s a solid, dreamy effort that deserves exploration. There’s plenty here worthy of attention if you can focus for long enough.

I was so looking forward to hearing Monkey: Journey to the West, as I'd totally succumbed to its charm in the theatre, but I'd advise anyone approaching this CD to do so with caution, especially if you've not seen it in its glory in the theatre where it belongs.

Even at its loudest, there's nothing objectionable or earth shattering about To The Sea; but there doesn't really need to be.

Overall, In The Belly Of A Brazen Bull is an impressive fifth album from the trio, one that contains elements of their earlier work, while also demonstrating the Jarmans' intention not to be constrained by one particular sound.

Commercial considerations aside, this is a finely crafted and lovingly realised album that Halstead should be proud of, and which deserves to finds its way into more homes than the usual coterie of 4AD fans.

On hand, as ever, is sister and mother to crank-up the feel good factor, and a more life-affirming live album you'll not find.

Buzz’s riffing and attack give the songs enough personality to sound individual and prevent the album becoming an analogous mess.

S Carey’s work may not have the same iconic impact of Bon Iver but through it he has created an album which rewards repeated visits.

'With Every Heartbeat' is evidence enough that this man has talent. He just needs to use that Rolodex a bit more.

If American Doll Posse sees her remain an acquired taste, those who have already been converted are in for a treat.

Petits Fours just has too many annoying bits about it to be good.

Full credit should be given for bringing an extra dimension to the Erasure legacy, but World Be Gone makes for far from easy listening.

Most of the other tracks on the LP aren’t nearly as exciting to hear as the first two singles.

It's a competent disco celebration of an album, but Holy Ghost! will need to dig a little deeper into their souls and diversify their influences to make more of a mark in the long run.

It makes for a palliative record, to put on loop after an hour of Top 40.

[A] belated, frazzled, intense and sometimes overwhelming follow-up album delivers on his promise.

This is a dreamier affair, lighter than air music that floats along like a wispy breeze; unfortunately, last year’s effort seems to have set a standard which has clearly proven difficult to recreate.

Whilst it doesn’t always work, and the shorter tracks do little to add value, the atmosphere they generate is often spine tingling.

The album really comes into its own when soft and subtle songs.

More polished and yet somehow less exciting. Nonetheless, The Other I is an album which offers plenty of eerie, shadowy pleasure.

So, leaner and more focused than their free-wheeling debut, Sweet Sour is a little gem in a sea of tired guitar bands looking for "something new."

The Veils may be a little late to the party but Total Depravity is good enough to sit pretty at the top of their far from mediocre catalogue. It will draw you in with repeated plays, track after track gradually vying for a place as your favourite.

No matter how careful and careworn Bry's immaculate vocal takes are, the band chug along with their muted guitar chords and thudding drums as if it were a mere run-through.

The album's coda lacks snap--as if 13 tracks was too big an ask--and while increased cynicism lends One Thousand Pictures extra weight, it is not a catch-all. Still, here be treasure... and a little sand.

The album is somewhat redeemed by a duo of commercially viable singles [Broken Brights, Wooden Chair]... As for the remainder of the album, there's little to recommend.

The majority of Heartstrings is the stirring return to form that much of us had hoped for each time Howling Bells released a new record.

Despite reservations, Angel Milk can be recommended as a good after hours album.

Yet it's too comfortable, old ideas diluted to homeopathic proportions, results half-hearted and strangely spiritless, songs feeling overly long.

Trail of Dead appear to have dropped the noise, and bought out the tunes.

Pledge is also somewhat uninspired, as MES sets his sights on crowdsourcing and the band scampers around aimlessly. These moments aside, Sub-Lingual Tablet is this incarnation of The Fall’s most impressive addition to the band’s canon.

It's an album far more than a parasite riding the wave of a traumatic situation, with a confident protagonist at its heart.

This is a confident debut by a band that can only keep on improving.

This is an album which, although it encompasses many feelings, never seems to fully settle on one – and therefore it’s both incredibly prescient and incredibly easy to get lost in its whirlwind wonderland of bittersweet narratives.

A frustrating album whose unremitting melancholy frequently feels like an endurance test.

The band’s first album in eight years, its brittle plastic funk and syrupy ballads are offset by meaty riffs and disco beats, but that makes musically for a somewhat jarring listen – especially from a band who have always been renowned for sonic cohesion.

Whilst How I Knew Her is lacking a little in inventiveness at times, and some of its oddities will rub up people the wrong way but there are still plenty of great moments scattered throughout to make it worth your attention.

All in, Courage marks an impressive return.

Occasionally, as on Carolina or Only Angel, it dips into bland pastiche, but generally this is a fine solo effort from, lest we forget, one of the most famous twentysomethings on the planet.

Hercules have furthered their ambitions on Blue Songs, drawing more of the late-great disco scene into a modern vehicle. Yet it's an album that does many things well but nothing to perfection.

Despite their heavy reliance on the past, in Somewhere Else there are more hits than misses.

There’s material on this album that’s fun, from the bouncy Blondie backing vocals on Pretty Awful, to the yob jazz of Dirty Mucky Delight, but it’s hard to make a case for most of it being essential listening.

It's not everyone who can give Slim Shady a run for his money, but Minaj more than holds her own here, sounding both menacing and cartoon-like and even dropping into an approximation of a cockney accent at one point.

This is an album that works incredibly well turned up loud.

A Work Of Heart [is] the positive, life affirming work of art its creator clearly wants it to be. On it Ty feels like an older, wiser brother who doesn’t preach--but who also has your back at all times.

Because 24 7 Rock Star Shit is just a great record. The requisite acoustic number (Sticks And Twigs) is heartfelt and pretty, there’s a sleek poppiness which can’t help but shine.

This is a delightful record, plain and simple.

Rewild is a decent debut album with enough promise to justify keeping a watchful eye for the future.

It's admirable that they have made such a shameless ode to that which they deem most important to their musical output, or at least what they thought might sell, but the way in which it seems so forced and uncomfortable is the opposite of what anyone would have expected.

Bigger, bolder but still retaining an engaging charm, it is a highly impressive melodic triumph.

It's not spectacular but it is a reliable and solid effort. Whether this is a pivotal moment for the genre remains to be seen.

Does You Inspire You has a few high points, most of them hidden in the quieter corners of the album. In its more strident moments, though, it's just plain puzzling.

What impresses most of all about this album, however, is the accomplishment and confidence with which it's constructed, and the economical way Merziger and Kammermeier make use of the huge array of colours and sounds at their disposal.